Conventional spinning reels used for fishing generally include a body, a rotatable crank handle extending from the body, and a rotor assembly rotatably supported on the body and geared to the crank handle. When the rotor is turned, the line is retrieved and wrapped around a line wrapping section of a spool mounted to a spindle that protrudes through the rotor assembly. To protect the line from excessive tension forces from a strong or determined fish (or other high tension loads), the spinning reel is equipped with a drag system which frictionally retards the rotation of the spool relative to the rotor assembly unless a certain minimum level of tension is exerted along the fishing line.
The line storage spool is often made of a structural metal or plastic material that resists corrosion in wet environments. In general, a spool has a forward flange end, a centrally located line reservoir section of reduced outside diameter that stores a fishing line wound thereupon, and a rearward flange and skirt that protect the gears and bearing surface under the spool from direct contact with water. The spool also has a central passageway from front to back along the rotational axis for interacting with the reel spindle. Because this lateral wall of this central passageway is structural from the front flange to the rear flange, it is used as a load carrying member for the reel drag system. (It will be understood by those in the art that directional references to “front” and “rear” are in relation to the orientation of the fishing reel when used for fishing in a traditional manner.)
A series of frictionally adjustable drag washers and metallic spindle washers are often found in a drag stack chamber that is located at least partially within the line reservoir section of the spool. A bottom floor of this chamber is substantially coplanar with the forward end of the spool skirt and the back of the line reservoir section. A centerline hole or opening therein is intended to allow the reel spindle to protrude through up the centerline of the spool and into engagement with a drag adjustment knob located on the front of the spool.
The use of a rectangular, triangular or other noncircular spindle shaft and a corresponding opening in one or more of the metallic spindle washers allows rotational force from the spindle to be imparted to the spindle washers. By friction against the drag washers and one or more spool washers that are configured or keyed to interact structurally with the spool but not directly with the spindle, rotation of the spindle causes the spool to rotate.
A drag knob is provided at the front of the spool with a threaded connection to the end of the spindle. By turning to the drag knob to exert a compressive force on the drag washers and spool, the amount of frictional force applied to the spool can be adjusted. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,299 and 6,394,379, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. See also, FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 illustrates conventional spinning reel 1 that comprises body 2, rotor 3, spool 4, drag knob 5, and crank 6 that is geared to drive spindle 7 in an oscillatory motion while rotor 3 revolves around spool 4 to wind fishing line (not shown) onto spool 4 in an even distribution pattern.
Star wheel 8 is axially supported on spindle 7 by shoulder 9 formed in spindle 7. The cross sectional shape of spindle 7 forward of shoulder 9 (i.e., toward drag knob 5) exhibits a noncircular cross sectional shape that can structurally engage star wheel 8 to prevent relative rotation of star wheel 8 relative to spindle 7. Star wheel 8 is associated with a spring-loaded pawl 22 that will emit an audible clicking sound when spool 4 rotates relative to spindle 7.
As shown in FIG. 2, spool 4 exhibits four discrete external features that include hollow rear skirt 10, rear flange 11 which structurally extends across the diameter of spool 4, central line reservoir section 12, and forward flange 13. Extending rearwardly through forward flange 13 and at least partially into line reservoir section 12 is drag stack chamber 14. Forward flange 13 is usually not integral with the other sections of spool 4 and is secured thereto with one or more screws tapped into the material thickness of line reservoir section 12 between its outer diameter and the inner diameter of drag stack chamber 14 to restrain washers within drag stack chamber 14.
Drag stack chamber 14 is conventionally formed with a substantially uniform diameter from top to bottom, apart from any surface features on its internal diameter that are used to interact with any external diameter features on a spool washer. In some cases, drag stack chamber 14 may include a step diameter increase for a relatively short distance at the top of the drag stack chamber of a length sufficient to accommodate the thickness of a retainer ring or washer with a diameter larger than washers in the drag stack.
Drag stack chamber 14 encloses a series of friction washers, one or more spool washers keyed into the inner diameter of the spool to prevent relative rotation to the spool and one or more spindle washers configured with a central opening that will engage the noncircular cross sectional shape of the spindle so as to avoid relative rotation to the spindle. For example, spool washer 15 is formed with an external projection 16 that will engage in a slot (not shown) that is formed into the wall of drag stack chamber 14 so as to structurally link spool washer 15 with spool 4 in a manner that prevents relative rotation between them. Spindle washer 17 is generally round with a diameter that is less than that of drag stack chamber 14 but which exhibits an axial opening 18 that is shaped to structurally engage the cross sectional shape of spindle 7 so as to prevent relative rotation therebetween. Between spool washer 15 and spindle washer 17 is one or more friction washers 19 that are generally round with an axial opening that does not engage spindle 7 but which are intended to provide adjustable levels of friction between themselves and the adjacent structurally engaged spindle washers 17. This adjustable level of friction provides the angler with a measure of protection for whatever strength line is used and the ability to fine tune the reel for various styles of fishing.
Enclosed by rear skirt 10 is the bottom surface 20 of rear flange 11 that bears on star wheel 8 which is, in turn, bearing on shoulder 9 formed into spindle 7. Star wheel washer 21 is disposed between star wheel 8 and bottom surface 20 and acts as a further friction washer when drag knob 5 is tightened onto spindle 7 to compress washers 15, 18, and 19.
The amount of frictional force that the drag function of the spool assembly can supply for a given compressive load is proportional to the number of friction washers in the spool assembly, the average diameter of the friction washers 19, and the compressive force applied by the drag knob. Given this design, the number of main friction washers 19 that may be used is limited to an odd number. Furthermore, the force applied by the drag knob passes through spool 4, star wheel washer 21, star wheel 8 and onto bearing shoulder 9 thereby creating stress in spool 8.
To ensure a smooth drag, the forward end of flange 13 upon which drag knob 5 presses and the bottom surface 20 of rear flange 11 must be parallel, or substantially parallel. This need for separated but parallel surfaces imposes certain precision constraints on the manufacturing of the spool. Consequently, the diameter of small friction washer 12 is often greatly reduced to decrease the effects of non-parallelism but also to reduce the power of the drag effects of this additional washer, e.g., 9 mm diameter as opposed to 19 mm diameter for a surface area ratio of about 1:20 (accounting for different central holes for the spindle).
It would be desirable to have a spinning reel that would maximize effective use of all friction washers to maximize the power of its drag system while also reducing the need for high precision in the alignment of separated, parallel bearing surfaces on a spool.